PPI claim on behalf of non-English speakers

[arohemq]

Hi,

Chatting with a Portuguese compatriot at work, I discovered that she had a large personal loan and ppi with Barclays and possibly another bank. (I was actually asking them about overdraft & penalty charges and the like which they also have had, many times over) I have helped her and her husband when translating was required for other matters but I struggle to get coherent information out of them. Their English is almost non-existent even after 16 years in the country. Their literacy is low in Portuguese never-mind attempting in another language.

I'm aghast & appalled they were sold PPI at all as they clearly have no idea what it is. I intend to go with her husband this afternoon to a Barclays branch to stop any existing payments that include the PPI. I have struggled to get any paperwork off them but did get hold of a single A4 Barclays page that contained the following:

Cash loan £15 000;

Single PPI premium £ 3 846.01;

Instalment is £ 362.88 of which

£ 288.83 is repayment of loan and £ 74.05 the PPI.

Term: 72 months (6 years)

Interest rate: 11.43%

Start date: Don't know

Total Interest costs:

Cash Loan: £5 795.76

Premium Loan:£1 485.59

Total: £26 127.36 (including principle)

 

A shocking £11 127.36 is interest (£5 795.76) and PPI (£5 331.60) for a 6 year loan

 

My query is: What do I ask for when I get to the bank? I will be translating... I read a paragraph dealing with early repayment and obligations including settling the PPI early.

Do I cancel the PPI portion? What information should I request? Loan agreement T and Cs for sure since they don't seem to have it.

 

Other perhaps pertinent info:

The husband, in whose name the loan is, suffers from diabetes and works as a hotel porter and/or kitchen staff (so I think is a permanent employee) and is now 60.

 

I want to help these poor folks (and yes, I'd say they'd qualify for hardship and likely exempt from court fees?) but I'm worried that I'm out of my depth.

 

Many thanks in advance.

Edited July 28, 2011 by arohemq
Tried formatting text properly

[ims21]

Hi

 

Your friend is perfectly entitled to cancel the ppi with immediate effect.

 

When you visit the bank, take a letter with you (signed by him) to the effect that the ppi shold be cancelled with immediate effect. Get the bank to sign for receipt of the letter. At this point you do not need to tell them that you wish to reclaim....it is always better to do that in writing and via an accepted procedure.

 

Does your frien have bank statements which will show the dates of the repayments? Does he have the loan account number? If he does, you won't need any further details to get your claim going. T&Cs would not normally be required.

 

Regards

 

ims

[arohemq]

Hi ims,

Thanks for your reply.

I don't think they have much in way of bank statements as I have been repeatedly asked them in the past. I asked her to get all and any piece of paper they have at home and bring them to me to translate but have only managed this single sheet ! They are extremely difficult to help as they seem afraid of going against the bank (their situation is precarious etc). The idea of a branch visit is to get hold of any outstanding and past loans as well as their T&Cs as I have had confused answers. Does that mean I would be tipping their hand?

I will type up a letter now as you suggest, requesting the PPI cancellation. And will request a receipt.

[ims21]

Ok

 

I can understand their feelings....not being able to speak good English means that they cannot really understand things.

 

The bank should not take any retaliatory action. Having said that, they could always open an account with another bank.

 

I think your best bet is to firstly get that ppi policy cancelled as sugested. I don't think you'll get very far by asking for docs at a meeting. Banks can be very slippery as we all know. Everything should be done in writing as there is then a paper trail of events which cannot later be denied.

 

I would be inclined to send a Subject Access Request (SAR) to the bank. This is a formal request under the Data Protection Act and should yield all information the bank hold in respect of your friend's dealings with them. It will cost a statutory £10 (Postal Order) and amongst the details that come back will be details of agreements, transaction history and a load of other stuff. The bank will have 40 days to comply.

 

There is a template for a SAR in the Cag Library.

 

I wouldn't worry about court at the moment...get the information form the SAR, prepare a claim and then, with help from CAG, you can decide how best to deal with the matter, i.e. through fos or the courts.

 

Regards

 

ims

[arohemq]

Hi again ims

Ok, I will take things slowly, first things first: cancel PPI.

Next I will ask my workmate to send the SAR to their bank(s) to get all info as regards their loan(s) and bank accounts. I will type up & print letters for them, I did them for myself a few years back. I just know they've been creamed of hundreds of pounds in penalty charges as well.

Then I should be back for further advice as regards the way to go about reclaiming PPI & bank charges under hardship rules.

Thanks for your help so far!

[ims21]

No probs

 

Good luck

 

ims